Chapter 8
Weiss opened the room to their dorm and, with a hand on the small of Neo's back, guided the small woman in. Weiss's head fell slightly, a pang of disappointment hit her as she saw that all three of her teammates were in their room. Sure, it was late and she knew they would be, but still, she hoped there was an outside chance that she could have the rest of the night alone with Neo.
Gently caressing Neo's back, Weiss offered her the opportunity to take her shower first so she could get ready for bed, since she was probably still tired after drifting off while they were out. Neo nodded in agreement.
Ruby offered Neo a set of her pajamas for the night, since she didn't have an opportunity to wash all of her new purchases yet. Even though Ruby was pretty small, her clothes would still be a bit too big for the small woman. Meh. Even still. It'll be nice to not sleep in these grimy things again. Neo took the garments from Ruby and smiled appreciatively as she placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. After giving it a gentle squeeze, she went into the bathroom.
As soon as the water began running in the next room, Weiss was surrounded by her teammates.
"Hellll-oooooo! We need to talk." Yang started immediately. "So… How was your date?"
"Wait, what? It wasn't a date. We were shopping for essentials for Neo's time here at Beacon. Just because we went alone doesn't mean we were on a date. I mean, as a Huntress, in training… and as Neo's guardian, it's my duty, my responsibility, to ensure that she's properly kitted out to contribute to our team and has everything that she needs to ensure a successful rehabilitation from her previous life as a criminal. Besides…"
"Yeah," Yang cut her off. "The way you're going on like this is proof of just how into her you obviously are. Besides, that's not your hoodie, so obviously your date was looking out for you."
"Leave her alone, Yang… It's fine if the Ice Queen doesn't want us to know that she's totally going warm for her new friend." Blake chimed in.
"Aww… Weiss! Do you have another crush that's not me?" Ruby poked.
"RUBY! You little dolt, how long have you known?"
The dorm went quiet save for the sound of running water from the next room. Weiss's hands flew to her mouth, clasping it shut as if trying to stop the words she just uttered from spilling out. Three sets of eyes fixed on her. Her mind flew, trying to think of how she was getting out of this one. From Ruby's comments, it was obvious that her crush on her leader wasn't well hidden. But since no one ever said anything, Weiss just assumed it was well hidden; surely someone would have called her out on her deviance had they noticed.
"Since you came back for me during our initiation." Ruby mumbled. "I still don't know how I realized it then, but I just knew that you were into me. At first, I just thought it was some weird physical reaction spurred on by the stress of initiation, but over the last two semesters, I guess… Well, I guess that it just made sense. We were so close and you always acted a little jealous when I spent time alone with anyone else. But, after a while, I realized that you never actually pursued anything with me. So, I started to think that I was reading too much into or imagining it, so I tried to put it out of my head."
"Ruby…"
"Weiss, don't worry. It's okay. I just want you to be happy, even if it's with someone who isn't me. Besides, I'll be fine. I. Drink. Milk!"
"I'm sorry Ruby. I just, well, I ugh, didn't think that… Wait… Why aren't you all screaming at me for harboring such 'unnatural feelings'?"
Her teammates all looked at each other, with varying degrees of confusion.
Weiss was speechless. After everything Winter had told me? How I needed to bury these feelings. How father could never find out. This, these feelings, was such a source of immense shame to her. She hid and buried them for years because she thought she was a freak that no one could possibly forgive for harboring such unnatural desires. How are they being so understanding?
"Weiss?" Ruby prodded her teammate. "You know that there's nothing wrong with being a lesbian, right? I mean, well, yeah, I've never dated anyone, but I would have gone out with you because we love each other. I mean, obviously we love each other as friends, right? But who knows what could have happened? I never really thought it would matter if my partner ended up being a boy or a girl. Like you…" Ruby looked away from Weiss and dropped her gaze. "I just thought all that mattered was that we were there for each other and enjoyed being together. It wouldn't really matter beyond that."
"Awww! My little sister's so understanding!" Yang shouted as she wrapped up the little redhead in a tight hug.
"Ruby's right, Weiss." Blake began, "Who you fall in love with is between you and them, if you're both happy, nothing else matters."
"You… You really mean it? I mean, you guys don't hate me for being, umm, like this?"
Managing to break out of Yang's iron grip, Ruby walked over to Weiss and gave her one the hardest hugs ever and followed it with a small kiss on the cheek. "You're going to be a great girlfriend, Weiss. No matter who you end up with. Neo's very lucky that you're willing to give her a chance. The two of you should try to spend some time alone tomorrow and talk thro- well, I mean… You know what I mean…" Ruby trailed off, hyper-aware of Neo's muteness and cursing her awkward phrasing.
The team heard the water in the next room shut off. That being their cue that this conversation was over for now, the three girls quickly jumped either into their beds or over to their respective desks and began working. After a few minutes, Neo emerged from the bathroom in Ruby's intolerably cute pajamas. Weiss felt her breath hitch as she saw Neo had folded up the bottom of the black tank top, leaving her abs exposed. Weiss jumped out of her seat, grabbed her shower kit, and careful to avoid touching Neo, skirted past the multi-hued haired woman. As she closed the door, Weiss leaned hard into it and sighed.
Neo walked through the room over to the bed she was sharing with Weiss. She absently smoothed out the blankets as she thought about the evening. Am I misinterpreting her intentions? She seems so uptight about showing her feelings. I don't know… I can't mess this up, though. Determined to not mess things up, Neo decided that she would make any affectionate displays in view of Weiss's teammates or classmates. Not until Weiss made it clear that those displays were welcome. Once the lights went off though… Under the cover of darkness… Neo smiled at the thought of cuddling up to her new friend. Resting her head on Weiss's chest. Draping an arm across her. Playing with Weiss's fingers as their digits entwined together. Listening to her breath as the white-haired girl drifted off to sleep.
Neo crawled into bed and nestled into the corner. It was becoming a safe place for her. It would feel even safer and warmer once Weiss returned. This is so unreal! I'm not hungry. Other than Weiss's one outburst, I'm not afraid of being hurt. This girl seems to just appreciate me for me. Likes me. Wants to be my friend. With out a quid pro quo. Neo felt genuinely content as she sat there, eyes lazily gazing on the empty space next to her. The space Weiss would soon fill.
Lying down, Neo breathed in the lingering 'Weissness' from the pillow, blankets, and bed. She was content. Patiently waiting. Waiting for Weiss. Coming from the shower, her hair would be down and loose. She would be radiantly beautiful, as always. She would crawl into the same bed as Neo. Under the same blankets. Neo's heart raced at the thought. How did I merit this girl's affection? Why didn't she kill me the other night?
Weiss sat in the shower as the water flowed over her. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess as she tried to make sense of the past couple of days, tried to plan for tomorrow, and failed to piece together how Ruby (and everyone, really) suspected her dark secret and knew it to be true – and how they were all, somehow, okay with it. Then her thoughts turned towards Neo. Gods! She's so beautiful, there's no way she's as inexperienced as me; plus it's not like I know that she's even interested in me, or any other girl, really. Sure, she's a criminal, or was a criminal until quite recently… But that doesn't mean that she's that kind of deviant. Besides, she's probably only hugging me and holding my hand because it's her only way of communicating. She's acting affectionate because she's happy to be away from Torchwick and that Cinder woman. Once the appeal of living a crime-free life has worn off and the hard work of training to become a Huntress sets in, she'll stop acting like this. I mean, really, there's no point in even trying to start something with Neo; there wouldn't even be a start before it completely ended. And just like that, Weiss convinced herself that there was no way she could act on her feelings and let Neo discover her, hopefully hidden, desires.
Finished drying and dressing herself, Weiss gathered up her items and returned to the bedroom. Her teammates were still studying at their desks or relaxing in their beds. She glanced at her bed and saw Neo's tiny frame under the blankets, clutching Weiss's pillow close to her face. As the bathroom door clicked shut, Neo's eyes shot towards the spot Weiss was standing. She smiled broadly as their eyes connected. Slipping one hand from the blankets, she patted the spot next to her.
I'm doomed! Weiss thought as she saw the smile coming from the small woman patting a spot for her. Taking her time to replace her shower supplies, Weiss realized that she was stalling from getting into bed for no reason at all. She spun around, dashed to her bed, and slipped under the blankets. Neo's warmth made the bed feel unbelievably pleasant and welcoming.
Despite herself, caught up in the warmth from Neo's smile, Weiss extended the arm that was closest to Neo and softly pat her shoulder and upper chest. Eyes going wide, Neo seemed shocked that her friend was asking for her to cuddle so soon.
Quietly, she scooched against Weiss and rested her head on the girl's offered shoulder. Chancing a bold move, she gently draped her right arm across Weiss's stomach and reached for the girl's left hand. Weiss offered up the sought hand and energetically laced their fingers together. With her other arm, Weiss softly ran her fingers through the woman's multihued hair. Turning her head slightly, her eyes met Neo's.
Neo was smiling contentedly as Weiss looked into her eyes, both of which were now a warm, chocolate brown. As the unrealness of this set in, Neo realized she was actually happy. Her smile broadened a bit at that thought. She felt safe. And protected. And incredibly tired.